Anatomy of a winning streak

As the New Orleans Hornets prepare for tonight's nationally televised contest against the Dallas Mavericks, they will be going for their sixth straight victory. Although none of the recent wins have been particularly pretty, there are three particular players who have stepped up tremendously: David West, Rasual Butler, and Tyson Chandler. I don't include Chris Paul in this because he is a bona fide superstar, and his contribution is a constant every single game.

David West has been a flat-out BEAST lately. All year I have heard people complaining about his lack of effort, inconsistent defense, and poor rebounding. Well folks, it seems as though he may have been saving himself for the stretch run, because he has been playing harder than just about anyone else on the floor recently. While averaging close to 30 points and 10 rebounds a game during the win streak, West has found his mid-range jumper and has become very active under the goal. Here's a breakdown of his past five games:

I don't know if he is ticked off about people saying he shouldn't have been an All-Star, or if he is still mad about Tyson almost getting traded, but let's hope he keeps this up. When West is playing at this level, we are a tough team to beat.

Rasual Butler is having an incredible year for the Hornets, and his vast improvement this season has only gotten better recently. When I think back about last year's team, I really believe that we would have beaten the Spurs with Butler contributing at this level. With Morris Peterson having an injury plagued and inconsistent season thus far, Butler's emergence has been a pleasant surprise, to say the least. Since the All-Star break, he has averaged 17 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, all while playing very sound defense. He now leads the team in 3 point percentage at 42.6 percent, and has picked up the scoring lately for an ailing and aging Peja Stojakovic. His contribution has been enormous for the success of the club.

Last but certainly not least, I believe that Tyson Chandler has been the fundamental catalyst for the Hornets recent success. Since the failed trade to Oklahoma City, Tyson has averaged 11 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. Those numbers are very solid compared to his season average, and you can see the difference he has made in team rebounding statistics. This improved production, along with his defensive presence and overall hustle has been a huge reason why the team is starting to turn things around. He got the game winning tip-in against the Bucks, and had big offensive rebounds at the end of two other games to seal victories.

Tyson seems to have a renewed focus after the defunct trade attempt. In his latest blog, he wrote about this:

"I think it's one of those situations where you don't realize what you've got 'til it's gone. For that moment that I was traded, I realized that, most likely, I would never have a chance to play with this group of guys again. That being said, when the trade came back, I said to myself, every game I'm out there for the rest of my career, I'm never going to take a game for granted. So now I play every game like it's my last one out there."

Never underestimate the power of motivation for a player. I sincerely believe that he will retain this focus for the entirety of the season and playoffs, and it will pay off for this club big time.

So here's hoping that the Hornets continue the winning streak, starting tonight against Dallas. Look for CP3 to own Jason Kidd yet again, as he goes for his third straight triple-double against the Mavs.